Blurred Regards
by onyour-own
Summary: Luffy has been poisoned, and now the crew is beginning to fall apart. Will they be able to pull through by themselves? Or will the captain somehow be able to save everyone when he can't even save himself?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I don't own the character's or One Piece. **

-Blurred Regard's-1

"I should have stopped it!" Zoro growled as he slumped against the railing of the Thousand Sunny,"I should have stopped it from hitting him!" his three katanas clanked mournfully beside him as they hit the wooden railing that the green haired man leaned back against.

Sanji blew out a thick grey cloud of smoke,"No one could have stopped it out marimo." he replied in his cool voice. The salty wind blew the grey smoke away from his face as the Thousand Sunny traveled forward.

Always forward.

The day was beautiful despite what the Strawhat crew was going through, and at the moment, none of them felt content inside because of what had happened.

Their captain had gotten hit by a poisonous dart.

The poison: unknown.

The culprit: caught by Zoro, Sanji, Franky, and Nico Robin.

A dog of the Marine HQ.

Chopper had tried everything, and the little reindeer was going crazy trying to find the antidote for the poison.

Of course the culprit didn't know anything, afterall, he was only assigned to hit Luffy with the dart and nothing else.

"I should have noticed!" Zoro gritted his teeth and looked down at his rough weathered hands, calloused and scarred from years of rough living. He had never felt so helpess as he did now, and he had promised! He had promised to himself that he would protect the captain from anything and everything that was harmful.

Sanji glanced over at the fuming green headed man,"Blaming yourself isn't going to help anything." he took a last drag of his cigarette and dropped it to the deck,"The only thing we can all do is hope." he said as he crushed the remains of the burnt out cigarette beneath his shiny and sturdy black shoes.

Zoro bit back a retort as he watched Sanji walk away. All the crew members were suffering, not just him. Sighing, the green haired swordsman closed his eyes and let his senses drift along in the wind to calm himself. The saltiness of the ocean permeated the air like a perfume and the wind gently carressed Zoro's tanned face.

There was an eery silence on the once lively ship.

And it was then that every crew member realized this.

Luffy was the life that they had all depended on.

Luffy was the force that kept them all going.

Luffy was fading from them all.

That reality hit them all hard, and almost threw them all off their balances.

However, it was an expected truth.

It was just one that they had never fully realized that had lay within themselves for such a long time.

Suddenly the silence was peirced by a bone chilling scream of agony and pain. It was their captain.

Everyone froze as the high keening sound sharply bolted through everyone of the crew member's hearts like lightening.

Luffy never screamed. He yelled. He roared. He pouted. He sulked.

But he never, NEVER screamed.

All the Strawhat crew members were on their feet in a split second, everyone dropped what they were doing and quickly made their way to the captain's room, one thought streaming through their heads as they rushed to where Luffy was.

What was happening?

Zoro of course was the first one there being the closest and burst in through the door, Sanji and Robin were behind him while all the others came in last.

Nobody could say anything as they set their eyes on the rubber captain.

He was gaunt. What little weight he'd had had been stripped away from him by pain and the poison's dirty work. His eyes were open but they didn't hold the shine and luster that everyone usually saw, instead they were dull and glazed with a slight feverish tint to them.

The sounds of Luffy screaming his secret lament was now dying either because the pain or whatever it was, was beginning to fade, or because the young captain felt the presence of his crew in his room surrounding him like a warm aura.

"How is he?" Zoro asked calmly as Chooper quickly did a check up on Luffy, his large tanned arms were crossed over his toned chest as he quietly watched the little reindeer clean up his medical supplies. Zoro had to be the calm one, he had to be the rock for everyone to cling on. Afterall, he was the 1st mate. It was his duty was it not?

"I don't know." Chopper replied, his little voice wobbling,"It's hard to say right now if his symptom's will worsen or not. Luffy's just gotten hit by the dart a few hours ago. I know that he won't die, this isn't what the poison is designed to do..." the reindeer's voice trailed off.

Zoro nodded and patted the reindeer on the head,"It's ok." he said reassuringly,"Luffy would be proud of you." he then looked down at Chopper kindly,"You tried your best and that was all he could ask for."

Chopper looked up at Zoro through watery eyes and nodded,"I'll try to figure out what this poison is about then." he replied with new vigor and determination in his voice.

"Goodluck." Zoro smiled tiredly at Chopper who nodded before going out leaving the rest of the crew in Luffy's darkened room.

All eyes were on their once lively captain, an air of melancholy was threatening to opress everyone.

Luffy had never been this sick before.

"Nami, go check on the weather conditions and report back to me, Franky, check the log pose and see if we're on course, Brooke and Ussop, make sure that there's no damage to the ship and Robin, go research the poison with Chopper, maybe if he figure out where it came from it might be easier to determine what it's doing." Zoro was speaking to the crew and everyone moved without a question, they were greatful that they would have a task to keep their minds off of this situation, but at the same time, it wasn't the same. Zoro wasn't the same as Luffy and even the person himself knew that, however, they needed something to do,"Sanji, go prepare dinner." was his last request. It sounded like an order from him though. Maybe it was supposed to be...

Zoro supressed the urge to punch Luffy, after all, it wasn't the 17 year old boy's fault for being hit by a poisoned dart.

The green haired man turned around to look down at his captain who was now resting fitfully on the bed, the rubber man's eyebrows scrunched up at times, and then smoothed out, his closed eyes twitched and his forehead was beaded with little globes of clear sweat.

Everyone else had a job.

So what was Zoro's?

The swordsman sat down heavily beside Luffy.

Oh yeah.

It was to look after his captain.


	2. Chapter 2

-Blurred Regards-2

From then on the Strawhat crew members took shifts to look after their captain.

When one got tired, or couldn't bear to be with Luffy anymore, another crew member would come in to take the place of the exhausted person, but no one took more shifts than Zoro did.

No one took more time and effort to be with Luffy than Zoro did.

"Two weeks." Zoro murmered to himself as he looked over at his unconsious captain lying in his bed. The green haired man was slumped back against the wall opposite of where the captain was with his arms crossed and his three katanas leaning against the wall beside him,"Luffy when are you going to wake up?" Zoro stared at Luffy willing the rubber boy to open his eyes, or talk, or smile...anything but scream and flail around in his bed like a mental nutcase.

It hurt everyone to see their captain so weak and unable to do anything.

Zoro sighed and looked away,"We need you back you idiot." he grumbled as he shifted into a more comfortable position against the wall,"I'm getting tired of babying your crew members." he admitted to an unconscious Luffy and then once again turned his unguarded gaze to his captain. If somone wanted to be analogical about it, they could put it this way.

Zoro was the rock that anybody could cling to reliably, but Luffy was the gravity that kept him grounded, that kept them all intact to the earth.

What good was a rock when it wasn't even solidly on the floor?

Without the gravity, Zoro felt like he was now aimlessly wandering around the ocean and it wasn't a feeling that he liked.

There was silence as Zoro got lost in his thoughts, the darkness of the room didn't help his growing sense of desperation and soon the green haired man was close to tears.

And this was a rare sight indeed for no one, and no one except for Luffy and maybe Sanji had seen Zoro cry once, and only once. The reason was because he had lost to Mihawk in a duel and as tears had flowed down his weathered face, he promised Luffy that he would become the strongest swordsman in the world and that everyone, be it angel or demon or human would hear his name.

This was the second time.

The usually stone faced and gruff swordsman let the facade break in the privacy of his captain's room where Luffy lay in a delerious coma on the bed,"Yo Luffy." Zoro let his gaze slide over his captain's face, the green haired man's eyes were bright with unshed tears,"How long are you going to stay like this? Where's your heart?"

His words were greeted with cold silence.

But that was only to be expected since Luffy wasn't conscious.

And slowly, ever so slowly, Zoro's expression changed from the unguarded tenderness, to a unique cold icy exterior. Tougher and colder than his usual expression and yet more vulnerable and less gruff at the same time.

There was a sound that made Zoro jump for his katanas, but a moment later the door opened revealing Sanji carrying a tray of food,"You want to switch with someone?" the cook asked as he set down the tray of food down in front of Zoro.

"It's fine." Zoro replied and nodded once in thanks for the food,"Maybe later." he said a few moments later.

Sanji nodded, turned to walk out of the room but paused and then turned back to look at Luffy for a few seconds, his expression pained and helpless, and then the moment was gone. Sanji put his cool facial expression back on and walked back out of the room closing the door behind him as if nothing had happened.

Zoro looked down at the food that Sanji had prepared for him. It smelled delicious, and looked awesome, but for some reason he had no appetite. The green haired man glanced at Luffy half expecting the lanky teenager's arms to stretch themselves beyond normalcy and steal the food set in front of Zoro.

It didn't happen.

But it was nice to imagine, Zoro forced himself to eat, food kept him alive and he needed the energy to keep everyone together.

It was nice to imagine...

Zoro finished all the food in record time that would have made even Luffy jealous and decided to carry the tray back to the kitchen himself. Luffy would be ok for a few seconds alone wouldn't he? Afterall there wasn't anything a person in a coma could do right?

Zoro stood up and stretched his arms, he hadn't gotten up since this morning and it was well late into the night,"Sanji?" Zoro slowly made his way into the kitchen carrying the tray of empty plates,"I brought everything here." the lights in the kitchen were still on and so Zoro knew that everyone was still in there either eating or talking.

"Zoro!" a chorus of voices greeted him as he entered the place, the green haired man surveyed everyone and noticed that they had barely eaten.

"Eat." was all Zoro said as he placed the dirty dishes in the sink,"Even if you're not hungry, eat." his voice was gentle,"Or Luffy would be mad at you guys for wasting the food."

Chopper looked at his food, his eyes watering and began to dig in with new fervor, Ussop did the same and gradually everyone began to force themselves to eat the food that Luffy regarded highly.

Zoro left everyone and went back to his post at his captain's side, he turned the lamp on dimly, just enough to see but not bright enough light up the whole room. The swordsman's eyes went to his captain's sleeping face only to freeze up like ice.

He wasn't there.

"Luffy?" Zoro whispered, panic began to bang at his heart like drum and cold adrenaline began to swiftly run through his system,"Luffy?" his voice grew louder and he frantically looked around the room. Would he be in the bathroom? He couldn't have gone far in his condition. The green haired man ran around the ship frantically searching for the rubber man but didn't dare call for the others. It would only cause the panic to increase and nothing would get done.

Where could he be?

Zoro looked in the storage room. No Luffy.

Zoro ran into the aquarium but no Luffy.

Where is he? I have to find him!

A thought suddenly popped in Zoro's head and he found himself running to the last place where his captain might be at.

The giant figurehead of the ship.

As soon as Zoro saw the thin figure sitting calmly and serenly on the figurehead, his heart calmed down and his chest almost burst with relief,"Luffy." he said softly as he approached him.

The captain of the Thousand Sunny slowly turned his head and grinned at Zoro,"Zoro." he said in his unique voice and then turned back around to face the front.

"You're awake." Zoro replied as he stood behind his captain for good measure, just in case Luffy fell. His hope felt like it had been renewed, and it felt like his burdens were being lifted off of his shoulders,"You shouldn't be out here." but he made no move to bring his captain back inside.

Luffy took a deep breath of the cool nigth air,"It's fine." he smiled and let his strawhat hang on the string around his neck.

"I'll go tell the others you're awake." Zoro turned to go but was stopped when an arm prevented him from leaving. They would be so happy to see their captain again!

"Not yet." Luffy said quietly as his large black eyes gazed at the darkness of the ocean before him,"I just want a few more minutes of quiet." his voice was soft.

Zoro hesitated but turned back around,"Alright." he conceded a bit grudgingly, What else could he do? Luffy was his captain...and this captain was acting very strange indeed.

Zoro realized that he had rarely ever seen the mature and calm side of Luffy before, it was one of the rare moments that the rubber man ever decided to show his astounding unique intelligence to everyone, and to people who had seen it, it was not something to be forgotten afterword since Luffy would usually act like his stupid and goofy self almost all of the time.

Zoro opened his mouth to ask if something was wrong, and that if something was, he would help Luffy through it, whatever it was, but the green haired man thought better of it and shut his mouth instead. There was no point when Luffy would just answer with the usual smile and nod of his head that everything was perfect, when in fact, everything was not.

There was silence as captain and 1st mate gazed at the darkened horizon before them, and somehow it reminded both men of their future gazing back at them with intensity.

Luffy calmly stood up and turned around, Zoro moved back so that the rubber boy would have room to jump down onto the deck,"Let's go to the others now." he grinned his silly trademark grin but Zoro could tell that Luffy was exhausted.

The green haired man didn't say anything but silently followed his captain to the kitchen where everyone was currently residing in.

There was something off about him.

Zoro's eyes narrowed as he gazed at he back of Luffy's head, the rubber man was hiding something from him...


	3. Chapter 3

Of course the crew was more than happy that Luffy was back.

Awake and alive.

More importantly, he was with them.

But the days following his awakening were not the same anymore.

Zoro kept a close eye on Luffy, he was where the rubber man was and vice versa. It seemed as if the only person that the captain could trust was the 1st mate at the moment.

To all the others, it seemed as if their old captain was back, the lively and reckless captain that they had always been with. To Zoro, it was a different story.

Luffy dropped his guard whenever they were alone together showing the weakness inside of him to the green haired man.

Something was definately wrong with him, but Zoro, no matter what he did and no matter what he asked, the question was always deflected by a wide grin which answered everything and nothing at the same time.

Chopper was still trying to find out more about the poison along with Robin while Sanji was busting his butt trying to make delicious but extremely healthy meals for the captain including all the meat that the rubber man wanted while Brooke did his best to play all the songs that Luffy liked.

Their captain was back!

This was the crew's way of showing their appreciation towards Luffy in a discrete and everyday mannered way.

A month passed and suddenly Luffy collapsed once again.

The tender hope that the crew had managed to build was suddenly squished flat when the crew saw Luffy unconscious on the bed once again. He was never this weak. Luffy was the type of person to keep getting up no matter how hard the fall was, and yet he didn't get up the next day, or the next.

The Strawhat crew began to slowly withdraw from each other, each lost in their own thoughts on Luffy and his condition and what they could do to help him. They only gathered together to eat meals together, or to fend of the Thousand Sunny from Marines or other pirates, but other than that, their time together was short.

There was no bitterness between any of them, it was just that it felt as though the common ground that they had once all stood on together was lost.

It was then that the crew was beginning to discover their blurred regard for Luffy.

He was the glue that kept them all together, and despite how utterly money wasting and useless he could be sometimes, their captain would always risk his life for them no matter what the odds were against him. He considered his crew members not underneath him, but at the same level as he was, he considered their feelings in his own way and he always found a way to forgive and forget the wrongdoing of his crew members [if they had done anything wrong in the first place.]

His solutions were simple and easy.

His rules few and basic.

There really was no pirate captain like him.

What was worse was that everyone had known this. They had known all along and yet they still put their own priorities before Luffy, not that the rubber man cared about that, but it just made them feel so selfish and horrid.

The captain would do anything for his crew members, and yet the crew members put their own goals and dreams above the rubber man.

Except for Zoro.

Zoro, whose dream was to become the world's greatest swordsman, Zoro, whose ambition and will exceeded everyone else's but the captain's, Zoro, who at first put his dream in front of his captain.

However somewhere along the way he had realized this.

That a new reason for staying with Luffy had appeared before his own dream. That something other than being the greatest swordsman in the world had become his top priority.

Chopper and Robin didn't know when Luffy would next wake up and that slightly dampened everyone's spirits if not completely annihilated their positive attitudes.

They needed their captain more than ever but the fact that they could not do anything for Luffy cast them all down into a pit of despair deeper than ever.

Zoro was barely hanging on to his last bit of sanity, the pressure of doing things that Luffy could effortlessly do was astounding and most of the time Zoro found himself wondering, how did Luffy do it?

Zoro had not been prepared for the gigantic responsibility and stress that had shifted from Luffy to him in the blink of an eye. He had not known the real meaning of being a captain of a ship, he had not been prepared for the risks and constant gambles of life.

How did Luffy do it?

"Wake up dammit!" Zoro glared at Luffy from his usualy spot opposite of where Luffy was lying, it had been a few days since Luffy had fallen unconscious once again and half the crew was going insane,"Luffy come back to us! We need you dammit! All of us need you!" his voice harshly scraped against his throat and the green haired man had to look away from the limp form of his captain.

There was silence as Zoro tried to organize his hurricaning thoughts, maybe this was his last chance to say whatever it was that he wanted...just in case Luffy never came back...and hopefully Luffy...well maybe Luffy would hear it,"I love you." Zoro managed to say with his gruff and embarrassed voice, his eyes however were intent on his captain's face hoping, wiating for a reaction that was sure to come.

But there was nothing. Not even a twitch.

'It's just like Gol.D Roger.'

Luffy's words came back to Zoro suddenly as the green haired man sat there thinking.

It had been from one of then many conversations that captain and first mate had shared after Luffy had awakened, one of the many mysterious things that Luffy had shared with Zoro only and no one else.

Just like Gol.D Roger.

Zoro's eyes narrowed into little black slits as he thought about what his captian previously said to him. It made no sense! What about Gol.D Roger? What do you mean by that! The blunt swordsman banged his head once against the wall behind him in frusteration.

What would Luffy do in a situation like this?

An image of the grinning raven-haired 17 year old teenager popped into Zoro's head.

What would he do?

"Zoroooo..." Luffy mumbled softly as he twisted in the bed.

The swordsman jumped, startled at the captain's voice. His green haired head arubtly looked over at Luffy intently, but the rubber man only feebly twisted to one side before being still. Zoro could feel his heart almost burst into little pieces as his eyes gently landed on Luffy's pained face,"What can I do?" he whispered as he quietly made his way over to Luffy's side.

"...ro..." Luffy murmered in a strained voice indicating that he was in pain. Probably from the high fever that he'd gotten since he had passed out. Chopper was doing his best to bring it down, and it had gone down, but only by a few degrees, it seemed as though in a couple of days the fever would be in control...but still...

"Luffy..." Zoro reached out a hand hesitantly to brush a strand of black hair away but stopped himself in time. He was the 1st mate, nothing more. The man clenched his hand into a fist and pulled it away before the temptation deepened it's fire inside of him,"Luffy..." he sighed and resigned himself to sitting beside Luffy.

As time went on, Zoro began to slip off into sleep beside Luffy and the captain himself slowly peeped an eye open that shined in the dark and looked at the gruff swordsman beside him for a moment before smiling to himself and falling back into a deep but painless sleep.

Yes, there were definately a few things that Luffy was not willing to tell even his most trusted 1st mate.

and to everyone who has reviewed this story-

Thank you so much for your support :]

I will do my best to update as fast as I can but I don't know how that will work out since I'm starting on my school assignments-

but thank you so much for reading and I hope this sotry continues to interest you :]


	4. Chapter 4

"Luffy stop passing out on us!" Nami scolded the raven haired captain with tears in her eyes,"That was the second time you've been unconscious." she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying.

Luffy laughed,"Sorry, sorry Nami, sorry everyone." he smiled, his black eyes twinkled as he looked at his crew members,"I don't think it'll happen again." he shrugged as he helped himself to the largest piece of meat there was on the table,"I'mf beelingf buch betterd." he said with a mouth full of beef.

That it wouldn't happen again?

That he was ok?

Zoro could already feel a headache coming on as he kept eating. Thinking about things like this wasn't something the swordsman was used to. After all, his way was to just jump in headfirst into anything, be it problems or a fight. That was just the way he was.

Sanji swooned over Nami and Robin as Brooke, Chopper, Franky and Ussop began to mess around with each other in their usual way. The only person, Zoro noticed, the only person that wasn't talking was Luffy, and it seemed, Zoro noticed as he took another bite of crunchy turkey bacon, as though no one noticed.

It seemed as though the crew was only happy to have Luffy around.

Like he was some kind of convenient thing.

The other thing that botherede Zoro was that Luffy didn't seem to care about anything except for his meat. He wasn't talking to the other crew members as he had done in the past, he wasn't even looking at them. The rubber captain was just eating like there was going to be no tomorrow.

Zoro's eyes narrowed over the rim of his large wooden mug as he gulped down half of its contents wthout tasting any of the flavor of the bitter sake.

Had the Strawhat crew been spoiled too much by Luffy?

Breakfast and lunch passed by without any event,.

As the sun began to sink lazily down the sky down into the horizon, and as the sky began to turn into shades of bright orange, pink and finally a light shade of purple, the ship finally settled down into its normal routine once the celebration of having their captain reawaken from his coma was over much to Luffy's dismay since this day had provided him with much more food than Sanji would have ever allowed Luffy to indulge in.

The crew had spent the whole day subtly being in the presence of their lively captain. Each person keeping an eye on the rubber boy with a heart almost bursting with relief. It was real.

Luffy really was back, was what each of them thought secretly.

Zoro watched everyone from his spot at the wooden railings silently yelling at everyone to pay more attention to Luffy. They were being naiive and to Zoro that wasn't something that should be told to the rest of the members, it was something to be learned.

They had to pay attention to realize that Luffy was not exactly the same! Zoro felt his forhead wrinkle up in anger, pay attention to the way his black eyes always seem a little distant, pay attention to the way the corner's of Luffy's mouth almost always seem stiff from repressing the expression of pain! But Zoro was mute as he silently watched the rest of the crew and his captain react with one another.

Was this all the supposedly extraordinary Strawhat crew members were capable of?

Could they really not notice that something was wrong with Luffy?

And yet there was Nami who was once again bragging about how strong the Strawhat crew was to some enemy on the den den mushi foolish enough to contact them in such a way, there was Sanji with heart shaped eyes hanging on every word that the usually quiet Robin seemed to say, there was Brooke, Chopper and Ussop fooling around with each other like little kids, there was Franky steering the wheel of the Thousand Sunny while contentedly whistling to himself, and finally there was Luffy, sitting alone on the figure head of the giant ship looking ahead.

Always ahead.

Zoro cringed in disgust and had to look away from the scene in front of his eyes. They didn't know. They really didn't know.

If someone like Luffy was able to hide something from everyone for so long, then that said something about the crew's vigilance and dedication towards their own captain.

It meaned that they didn't care too much.

It meaned that the crew thought it was only because Luffy was tired and still recovering [which he still was], but that was not the case in this sitation.

It meaned that the crew didn't think that it was a big deal.

Bastards, Zoro could practically hear himself screaming this line at them, go turn yourselves in to the Marines. You guys aren't fit to be in the Strawhat crew.

But no words came out of Zoro's mouth.

No sound came from his lips.

Curse his silence.

Zoro could only close his eyes and feign sleep as he tried to quell the ever growing flame of anger inside of him. He tried to concentrate on the salty and familiar smell of night and ocena mixed together, he tried to concentrate on how soothing and cool the breeze was at this time, he tried to concentrate on the sound of the gentle waves quietly lapping against the hull of the ship.

"Oi Luffy!" Zoro couldn't take it anymore, his eyes snapped open and he looked for the familiar black haired head with the strawhat perched atop of it.

There was silence as Zoro's voice harshly grated on the air around him, and all eyes turned to look at the somewhat agitated looking swordsman in confusion. Luffy included.

"I need to talk to you about something." Zoro finally grumbled as he realized how loudly he had said the captain's name.

Luffy tlited his head to the side and looked at his 1st mate curiously,"Talk to me about something?" he repeated, the scar underneath his left eye seemed to grow darker,"Talk to me about what Zoro?" he asked. He had completely turned around to face Zoro despite the fact that he was still sitting on top of the figure head of the ship.

"Something." Zoro grumbled as he stood up from where he sat and motioned to the kitchen where they could both sit and talk.

Sanji, Nami, Robin and Franky all snickered subtly behind a well concealed mask while Brooke, Ussop and Chopper just looked on at the unfolding scene with growing confusion. What was going on they wondered as they watched Luffy hop off of the figure head of the ship and follow Zoro into the kitchen.

They all exchanged looks with each other and went back to what they were doing. It wasn't anything serious...probably. Just some stuff between captain and 1st mate. Nothing important.

Luffy sat across from Zoro, each person seated on opposite ends of the table. There was silence as they both looked at each other.

"So what did you want to talk about Zoro?" Luffy tilted his head to the side curiously as he looked at the green haired man gruffly glaring at him like he had done something wrong when he had obviously not done anything to warrant this kind of behaviour from his 1st mate.

Zoro's black eyes narrowed significantly as he stared at his captain,"Don't play dumb with me Luffy." he growled dangerously and the atmosphere around them suddenly tensed into a one-sided aggressive amalgam of emotions.

The playfulness that had decorated Luffy's face and he dropped the stupid and naive mask that he had been hiding under the entire time. The captain's face was now serious like how it always became when facing a serious fight, his black eyes held the calm of a powerful black ocean that could wipe out anyone at any given moment, while his poise gave others the impression of someone who was used to having power and yet was used to hiding it at the same time.

Luffy was a strange person.

Zoro couldn't help but feel a little tinge of pride poking at his heart. He served this person. He would only listen to this person. This person was his gravity so to speak.

"Zoro?" Luffy raised an eyebrow at the silent swordsman, the scar underneath his left eye puckered slightly and the light inside the kitchen made the old injury seem worse than it actually was.

The gruff man snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to the rubber man,"I just wanted to know one thing." he looked intently at Luffy wondering how to phrase his question and the rubber captain just looked back at Zoro without saying anything.

Waiting patiently.


	5. Chapter 5

Zoro stared back at Luffy and suddenly he was regretting this. He had no right to ask what his captain's intentions were. His only duty was to listen and carry out the order.

"Zoro." Luffy said once again, his voice held no room for reply, and his eyes were alight with a fire that Zoro had never seen before,"Listen to me." he commanded.

The swordsman could only nod his head meekly and sit there across from his captain.

"I don't have time." the rubber man said seriously, his eyes narrow and passionate,"And I'm telling you only." he paused,"For now." he added after a bit of thought.

Zoro could feel himself freeze up inside just like the time when Kuma had asked for Luffy's head in exchange for everyone's freedom. But he couldn't say anything.

Suddenly Luffy smiled widely,"It'll be just like Gol.D Roger!" he exclaimed as he put the strawhat on top of his head. The brim shaded his eyes so that Zoro couldn't see the upper part of his face.

Zoro could feel his face turn hot,"Just like Gol.D Roger huh?" he murmered lowly,"Luffy, did you know that Gol.D Roger was probably the most selfish out there? He doesn't even deserve the title of captain after what he did much less the title of the Pirate King." his voice was gruff and his eyes were ablaze.

"Zoro!" Luffy half yelped in shock of having his ultimate role model insulted by his 1st mate.

"Shut up." Zoro said quietly, his voice strained at the seams and he sounded dangerously close to going out of control.

The rubber captain looked at Zoro carefully and closed his mouth.

"Roger left his crew, left the people that were practically his family to go and die." Zoro spat,"Roger didn't care about his crew. He only cared about his dignity, his pride, the legends that would be told about him around the world." Zoro could feel his heart about to explode from pent up stress and anger,"But what about the crew?" he yelled and pounded a weathered fist against the wooden table,"What about the crew?" his voice grew quieter and he looked at Luffy.

The captain calmly looked back at Zoro,"What about the crew?" he arched an eyebrow at the now astounded swordsman.

Zoro opened his mouth to say something but Luffy cut in,"Zoro." the captain's stupid look was back on his face and he was picking his nose with a pinky,"if I stay like this I'll become useless." he laughed and took his pinky out and inspected it,"And I'm supposed to be protecting you guys, not the other way around." he then proceeded to roll the offending green mass into a little ball between his index finger and thumb.

Zoro frowned and watched his stupid captain,indeed, what Luffy said was true but the way he phrased it made it seem like they were burdens to him instead of his crew,"Are you that burdened by us?" his voice was quiet.

Luffy stopped what he was doing and looked at Zoro,"Eh?" he tilted his head to the side.

"Are you that burdened by us?" Zoro repeated his question, his head was down.

"Hahaha, as if!" Luffy laughed and flicked the ball of green somewhere into a corner of the room. Sanji would probably find it being the neat freak that he was when it came tot he kitchen and kick him a million times, but what else was Luffy supposed to do, eat it? NO way,"How could I be burdened by you guys?" he laughed and looked at Zoro intently even though his face held the dumb look that it always had on.

"Then do we just wait for you to die then?" Zoro spat bitterly and he looked at his captain. He had to look at the black eyed straw hatted rubber man who had the sole ability to make people pull themselves together.

Luffy chuckled,"No." he grinned widely and the two people locked eys with each other,"We don't wait for death Zoro." his eyes shined brightly in the somewhat dim kitchen lighting,"We run towards it with a smile."

Zoro stared at Luffy.

We run towards death with a smile.

"You're a crazy man Luffy." Zoro favored the rubber man with a weak resigned smile and sighed heavily. When it came to Luffy it seemed that no one knew the logic with which the somewhat aloof captain used, and therefore, no one could find anything to say back to him refuting the arguments with which Luffy stubbornly came up with.

Luffy just laughed and stood up from the kitchen table,"Now that we're done talking, I'm going to hang out with Chopper, Ussop and the rest." he grinned widely and stopped before the door.

Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy who just turned around with that damn annoying grin on his face,"What?" he asked gruffly.

Luffy just grinned so widely that it looked like his face would crack open,"And." he tilted his head to the side,"I love you too." he said before he quickly flew out of the room leaving Zoro shocked and alone in the kitchen.

A series of indecipherable sounds and words came out of Zoro's reddening face. Luffy had heard that! Luffy had heard what he had said that day! Zoro mashed his hands into hard fists,"LUFFY!" he roared, his eyes were ablaze and his face was as red as tomato,"IM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Everyone on the ship and probably everyone within a radius of 5 miles heard Zoro's angry tone of voice and turned to look at a chuckling Luffy who had been playing with Chopper,"Don't worry about." Luffy grinned at his crew members,"Zoro's just in a bad mood today." he turned back to playing with Chopper, and the Strawhat crew just gave each other strange looks before shrugging it off and going back to whatever they were doing.

Inside the kitchen Zoro stood up but stumbled over his own feet before even taking even one step towards the door. He was too flustered right now. He was too shocked right now. Since when had Luffy been this good of an actor?


	6. Chapter 6

There was only one thing that Zoro could do after talking to Luffy and hearing his captain's sudden confession.

Well...it was mostly a reply to Zoro's own confession but still.

In any case, there was only one thing that Zoro could do as was written in the beginning of this chapter, and that one thing was to just deal with it, stone faced and strong willed.

Of course there was no way that Sanji and Nami, the two most abominable existences in Zoro's life, knew about the swordsman's feelings towards the captain, and vice versa. However, what worried him most was what would happen _**after **_they found out.

They would never let him live it down much less show his face in broad daylight.

Zoro muttered incomprehensively under his breath as he sat at the ship's watch tower as a lookout while he worked out his limbs with steel dumbells 3 times larger than his own body. The little room was empty except for a few towels, dumbell stands, a place to put his 3 katanas and a staircase leading down onto the front deck.

There were no open windows that let in a good breeze from time to time and the sun shone very strongly through the glass windows, so by the time Zoro had finished his reps, there was a flood of sweat all over the steel flooring.

"Zoro!" a voice called from the front deck,"It's time to eat!" it was Ussop, and he had come out of the kitchen to tell Zoro that it was time for lunch.

The kitchen...

Yesterday's events flooded back into Zoro's head as he mopped up his sweat with the few towels in the little room. After Luffy had said THOSE words to him, it had taken about an hour just for Zoro to fully function enough to stumble into his room and knock himself out just to escape from the ordeal.

"Luffy." Zoro gritted his teeth as he headed down the stairs and walked towards the kitchen. The light breeze outside instantly cooled his hot sticky skin and he could smell the aroma of the delicious foods that Sanji had cooked up.

Inside the kitchen was chaos. Luffy's arms were stretching around wildly trying to snatch what morsel of food he found delicious on another person's plate, Ussop and Chopper were yelling at Luffy to stop taking their food while Brooke was deep in an eating frenzy much like Luffy's with the exception of the rubber limbs of course, and Nami, Robin and Sanji were in a conversation that included heart shaped eyes, alot of swooning and the aura of a manipulative thief namely Nami. Franky on the other hand was looking at the scene with a cool smile and a bottle of Cola in a large meaty hand. He seemed to feel that this was his home, as did all the Strawhat crew members.

Zoro didn't even look at Luffy and just walked to his seat beside the half human half cyborg and began to eat his food in a guarded manner so that Luffy wouldn't be able to steal even the slightest crumb of food from his plate. As he stuffed a forkful of food into his mouth, the swordsman casually knocked a stray rubber limb from the direction of his plate piled with the substance that Luffy so longed for.

Don't look at him, Zoro told himself as he swallowed without tasting the flavor of the delicately prepared meal, even though I usually give him half of what I get, this time I'm not giving him any. The swordsman mentaly steeled himself as he continued eating, I have to be strong, he told himself as he stuffed another forkful of food into his mouth.

Don't look at him! Zoro told himself over and over again, don't look at Luffy, now is the most dangerous time to look at Luffy, don't...look...

Zoro couldn't help himself and quickly glanced at his rubber captain. The swordsman froze instantly.

Luffy, whose eyes were as big as cannonballs and watery to boot.

Luffy, whose mouth was stretched so far down into a sad pout that they even reached the floor much to the chagrin of Nami, Ussop and Brooke.

Luffy, whose hands were now clasped together as he looked mournfully at the plate of food set in front of Zoro.

All eyes turned to the green haired swordsman.

Zoro muttered, obscenities under his breath, he growled and cursed under his breath as he grudgingly pushed his plate of food to his childish captain,"Take it." he said in his rough voice.

Immediately Luffy's face replaced the sulking expression on his face with a bright shining smile and reached over for his plate of food,"Thank you Zoro." his smile was all teeth.

"Yea yea." Zoro grumbled still muttering death curses under his breath. He knew that this was going to happen...had known! And yet... Zoro sighed and stood up from his seat to go out onto the deck for some fresh air, and yet he had looked..how stupid could he be? Zoro cursed himself and glared at the horizon in front of him with so much vengence that he could practically feel the sun shrinking away from him increment by increment.

Man...there was nothing to be done though.

When it came to Luffy, Zoro was as helpless as a pile of cooked meat in front of the rubber man.


	7. Chapter 7

"Dammit!" Zoro growled, there were too many things to think about and not enough brain cells in his head.

Zoro was never really a person suited to actually thinking about something.

He was a person and by nature he would dive head first into problems without thinking about what would happen next except for the obvious.

To move forward no matter what.

He had two problems to worry about.

1. Luffy and his...possible relationship?

2. The condition of the crew and his captain in the future.

These were two completely unprecedented incidents that had occured in the span of a few months. Life changing with only 1 path to choose from. Not much of a choice if you asked Zoro at the moment.

"Zorrrooo!" a familiar voice rang loudly startling the green haired swordsman out of his reverie.

Zoro didn't bother turning around, it was Luffy, obviously, no one else said his name like a little child. Hell, they all called him marimo, swordsman-san, or idiot,"Hey Luffy." he grumbled as he shifted his weight to his other foot and rested a hand on top of the hilts of his katanas.

"Why did you leave?" Luffy was calm as both people observed the horizon before them the ship was calmly and slowly moving forward. The childish demeanor that Luffy had put on in the kitchen was stripped away revealing the person that many people would have admired.

"I had no reason to stay." Zoro shrugged nonchalantly, his previous anger with Luffy had vanished like smoke curling and dispersing quietly into cool clear air but just because the greyness of the smoke disappeared didn't mean that the smell disappeared with it.

"You're mad." Luffy finally turned to face his 1st mate, his dark eyes were deep despite the afternoon sun high up in the sky,"Why are you mad?" his tone of voice curious.

"I'm not mad." Zoro replied cooly, his black eyes were glazed with the hopes of trying to conceal something from his surprisingly perceptive and keen captain.

Luffy just snorted,"Yeah and my name is Princess meathead." he turned back to the front so that he could resume looking at the vast expanse of the ocean in front of them. It was a calm day today and the Strawhats thoroughly tried to enjoy it since they were for the most part always being chased around by bounty hunters, rival pirates or marines.

"Well you are a meathead." Zoro mumbled as he concentrated on leaving at least a 10 inch gap of space between them. If they were too close it would look suspicious to everyone onboard the Thousand Sunny and they couldn't have that.

A hand punched Zoro's side making the swordsman flinch. He was unprepared for such an attack from Luffy, usually the abusing came from Nami or Sanji,"Ack!" Zoro clutched his side and hacked.

"Did you say something?" Luffy asked as he still faced the front gazing at the horizon before him.

Zoro straightened,"Nope." he rubbed his side gingerly,"Nothing." his face was red from pain.

Luffy turned to face Zoro once again,"Good." he grinned and then laughed,"So are you still mad at me?"

Zoro made a sound of disbelief,"Luffy...if you punched a person that was mad at you...they would be crazy with madness if you asked them that question." he sighed and settled down onto the floor of the deck, his back to the rails and his legs crossed. The usual position when he was settling down for a nice nap.

Luffy frowned,"So you're still mad?" he sat down next to Zoro.

Zoro sighed,"No." he yawned and closed his eyes,"I'm not mad at you." he mumbled,"Now leave me alone so I can sleep." he could already feel his body slipping into sleep mode.

"Ok!" Luffy was happy again. It was so easy to make him happy. Too easy.

There was silence and Zoro enjoyed it, it was alwasy loud on the boat thanks to Luffy and Chopper and Ussop, there was rarely ever a silent or rather peaceful moment onboard.

Suddenly Zoro felt a pair of warm lips gently touch his own lips before disappearing just as suddenly as it had been felt. The green haired man's eyes snapped open and he caught a blur of bright red just before it disappeared behind a wooden door,"What the hell?" Zoro murmered even as he felt himself grow red,"Che, whatever." the swordsman closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep and pleasant dream where Luffy would live as long as Zoro and they would spend their days just as they had before Luffy had gotten poisoned.

If only it wasn't just a dream, Zoro thought unconsciously as he smiled with Luffy.

If it only wasn't a dream...


	8. Chapter 8

"Have you realized something lately?" Sanji blew out a lungful of grey smoke that whooshed past him while riding the sea breeze.

Zoro didn't bother opening his eyes but didn't move letting the blonde haired cook know that he was listening. It was just another day for the Strawhat crew, a week had passed by since Luffy had given Zoro the kiss and yet other than that nothing had changed.

Everyone else was inside eating dinner that Sanji had prepared and without their knowledge, Zoro and Sanji had managed to slip outside to get a rare moment to themselves, just for the sake of keeping the peace and talking a little. Zoro was of course sitting on the deck with his back against the railing while Sanji was standing and looking out at the waters in front of him.

"It feels like the crew is falling apart." Sanji continued as he leaned out against the railing of the Thousand Sunny and peered down at the deep blue waters beneath the ship. His voice was tense and a little sad as he noted the rest of his comment,"Ever since Luffy...got sick," he said deliberately,"No one's the same anymore." his voice got quiet.

Zoro could feel the muscles in his stomach clenching and finally opened his eyes,"I know." his voice was gruff but he stated his acknowledgment quietly.

The cook sighed."How is he?" he asked a bit hesitantly as he finished his cigarette with one last drag and then tossed it into the ocean. He knew, everyone knew that Luffy confided in Zoro more than anyone else on the ship. He had been with the captain the longest and so as a result had a deeper relationship with Luffy than anyone else, aside from the romantic aspect of their relationship of course.

"He's..." Zoro thought for a moment,"The same..." he finished lamely,"Except that he's not the same...You know what I'm trying to say?" he shifted into a more comfortable position as he tried to think of a way to describe Luffy in the way he was now.

Sanji just chuckled lowly," Marimo." he sighed and lit up another cigarette, a distant look was in his only visible eye as he peered far into the horizon,"Everyone knows that." he sucked in long and hard and breathed out the same way.

The smell of the cigarette made Zoro cringe in disgust but he was used to it nowadays,"I don't know how to turn him back." the swordsman confessed gruffly, his black eyes wandered up into the sky where they followed a large bunch of clouds lazily floating away from him.

There was silence as Sanji smoked and Zoro just stared absently at the clouds, and then the cook said something that Zoro would remember for the rest of his life, and maybe even in death,"He's not the one that should change." he tossed his half-finished cigarette into the water where it was extinguished with a little hiss as it made contact with the ocean, he stretched and then casually made his way to the kitchen, and before going in he slyly looked at the pondering green haired man and said,"Be good to him Marimo, everyone knows that he really listens to you." and then the cook disappeared into the kitchen joining the rambunctious and loud crew that was eating inside.

Zoro sighed and closed his eyes as he breathed in the salt air, as 1st mate, sometimes he felt that he had too many responsibilites. It didn't help that Luffy had shown how he had felt towards Zoro through a well meaning kiss, and it also didn't help to know that Luffy was technically an invalid.

It had taken so many sacrifices, so many hardships, and so much pain just to be where the Strawhat crew was at right now.

Almost at the top.

And the only thing that could actually destroy the Strawhat crew was the crew themselves.

It was so ironic.

They had spent so much time and effort just to be strong enough to protect themselves and each other from other had spent so much time and blood just to be where they were at and now look at them.

They were destroying themselves.

Zoro opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, these days it didn't seem like there was much to look forward to, everything felt like the end,"Heh." Zoro smirked at the sky,"We had a good run." he sighed and closed his eyes. Luffy was the closest to being the Pirate King, what more was there? The captain said that it was ok to die fighting for his dream.

Therefore, it was ok.

Right?

"Enjoying the outside breeze ?" Nico Robin's voice smoothly and gently sliced the salty air.

Zoro didn't bother moving, or even opening his eyes but just grunted in response. Geez, what was with today? Why were people coming out one after another just to talk to him?

There was silence as Robin slowly walked over to where Zoro was and perched atop the railing that he was leaning against. Her black hair danced lightly in the breeze and her blue eyes sparkled like the ocean waters,"How is Luffy ?" she finally asked as she turned her blue eyes upon the greenhaired man who looked as if he were asleep.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes but didn't look at her, now it was obvious to him. The reason why people were coming out one by one.

It was to talk about Luffy.

"He's fine." the green haired man replied as he yawned, he had to hide everything from everyone. He had to keep Luffy's secret for the time being. It was an order from Luffy.

"Ah..." Robin nodded, her keen eyes searching Zoro's face for any tell tale sign of a lie or discomfort, however, she seemed to find none as she finally turned away from him seemingly disappointed,"Well, then." she stood up and started to walk away,"Take care of Luffy for us. He's very important as you know." she giggled slightly and then disappeared into the kitchen with the others leaving Zoro alone once again.

The swordsman growled and muttered curses under his breath as Robin disappeared, it seemed as if anyone that had a shred of common sense in their heads knew about Luffy and Zoro.

Nami came out next much to Zoro's evident displeasure and he did all he could to supress a disgusted snort as she came by silently and stood beside him leaning against the railing of the ship.

This was getting annoying, Zoro didn't move, he just waited for Nami to say something. The usually annoying and chatty girl wasn't saying much and for a change, she was actually pretty serious as if the situation was critical.

But, Zoro realized, the situation really was dire wasn't it? This was their captain after all.

"I know Luffy isn't stupid." Nami sighed as she looked out distantly across the horizon, the water was growing darker and darker as night approached,"So I know that there are some things that he has to hide from us you know?"

Zoro didn't say anything as he sat there, what was he supposed to say anyways? That everything was going to be alright? That Luffy was going to get better? That Luffy wasn't going to leave them?

"I just..." the orange headed girl looked down at her hands,"I just want you to take care of him you know? The only person he'll listen to is you..." she sighed and then walked back to the kitchen,"You're not the only one that he's important to you know." she said as she disappeared into the kitchen once again just like Sanji and Robin had.

Zoro opened his eyes, what was he supposed to do?

And thank you so much for reading :] I appreciate it alot :]

also I'm very sprry for not updating as quickly- school has just started so I'm very busy- but thank you for your patience and thank you everyone who has reviewed my stories :]

I wll do my best to improve my writing :]


	9. Chapter 9

"Luffy." Zoro murmered his captain's name as he sighed and shifted into a more comfortable position against the railing behind him.

It had been a couple of days since Zoro had talked to Sanji, Nami and Robin and now Zoro and Luffy were outside on the front deck just relaxing and enjoying each others company.

"Hmm?" Luffy replied in his distant voice as he inhaled the salty sea breeze, he was as per usual, on the ship's figure head, facing front and forward and watching the large bloated sun dip lower and lower into the ocean as the sky turned a lavendar pink, and fiery orange red.

"Don't leave us." Zoro slowly opened his eyes and lgazed at his captain's backside. It was always his backside since Luffy was the one who led them all, since he was the one who plowed the way for everyone else.

Luffy didn't say anything but continued to look out into the horizon where the sun had now completely disappeared from the sky. It was a time where there was no moon and no sun.

It was a precious moment and it lasted only a second before the moon came out shining brightly and pouring down silver white light down onto the darkened earth.

"I'm not leaving you guys." Luffy replied finally but he didn't look at Zoro. In his rare moments of maturity, he could make even Ace look like a 5 year old compared to him.

Zoro's eyes involuntarily narrowed down into slits, his irises dilated and his eyes were flashing dangerously. There was something that Luffy wasn't telling him, something that he had kept from everyone else, and undoubtedly, it was something far worse than being poisoned and dying eventually.

There was a slight ripple in the atmosphere, a subtle hint of threat for the shortest amount of time possible, and then it passed. Anyone who had been passing by would have shivered without even knowing what they were feeling.

"I just want to take a little break." Luffy said quietly.

At first Zoro thought that he had been hearing things because,

1. Luffy never, NEVER took a 'little break' from being a pirate.

2. It sounded like had actually MEANT what he was saying.

"What?" Zoro snapped out of his thoughts and he looked at his rubber captain in surprise.

"I want to take a little break." Luffy repeated and he turned around to face Zoro,"I want to be normal for a little while." his dark eyes were eerily filled with depth and unreadable emotions. The moonlight gave his face a haunted contouring making his eyes seem sunken further into his face than it really was and the scar underneath his left eye seemed to pop out in a gruesome way.

Suddenly Zoro stood up, his weathered hands already gripping the hilt of a katana,"Who are you." he demanded as his eyes slowly and carefully went over every feature of the person who was supposed to be Luffy.

There was silence,"I am Luffy." the rubber man replied, his dark eyes were squinched in slight confusion as he looked at his 1st mate.

"No you're not." Zoro replied roughly, his eyes shined in the night,"Luffy is not like this." he said stubbornly,"Luffy doesn't say crap."

Suddenly the rubber man began to laugh,"Zoro..." he heaved,"I am Luffy!" his laughter rang into the cold night air. The emptiness of the ocean at night made his laughter echo louder than it actually was.

Zoro just hmphed and sat back down at his usual spot and leaned back against the railing of the ship once more. Luffy had changed, and the new Luffy wasn't someone that Zoro liked. Luffy was supposed to be thoughtless when facing dangerous situations, Luffy was supposed to see the answer before anyone else, Luffy was supposed to be the one who always moved forward.

There was silence as Zoro settled down and Luffy turned back around to gaze into the darkness ahead of them. A clean and salty breeze gently swept by them carrying a fishy scent along with it.

"You've changed." Zoro commented as he closed his eyes and yawned, the night air felt cool against his rough skin and it was perfect weather in the Grand Line for a change.

"Everyone changes." Luffy said wearily as he breathed in deeply and exhaled out in a soft sigh,"It's important to change." his voice was distant but Zoro had never felt the presence of Luffy so sharply.

"Luffy..." Zoro's voice was gentle probably for the first and last time ever. He didn't know how to express what he was really feeling nor did he know how to reach out to Luffy anymore.

What could he say?

"Zoro." Luffy cut in before the green haired man could say anything,"I'm falling apart." his voice was rough with emotion, something that shocked Zoro since Luffy was normally cheerful or just plain stupid,"And I need someone to pick up the pieces for me."

Falling apart? HIS captain? The eternally youthful and energetic rubber man was falling apart? Zoro began to laugh loudly, impossible! Luffy fall apart? His rough grating laugh was like a slap to Luffy and the captain flinched, immeditely Zoro could tell that his captain was telling the truth and he stopped,"Seriously?" he asked, his eyes carefully looked at Luffy.

"Have I ever lied and gotten away with it?" Luffy asked softly just as a strong breeze whooshed by smoothly and cleanly, the smell of the salt was calming.

"...no.." Zoro mumbled his eyes still on Luffy and then for some reason Zoro found himself getting up from the floor and joining his captain on the ship's large figure head.

Surprised, Luffy looked at him for a moment before smiling softly and looking back in front of him. The ocean was now black and icy cold, a glassy smooth canvas for the sky above. Silver stars and the pearly moon were reflected from the surface of the calm waters making it look like they were gliding across the sky instead of water.

Zoro cleared his throat in slight embarrassment but other than that he seemed to quite enjoy the close proximity between them. It was personal for both of them and being that close to each other, they realized something. They needed each other.

The ship was quiet as Nami, Sanji and Robin urged everyone to go to sleep after accidently stumbling outisde onto the deck and encountering the two people sitting side by side. Captain and 1st mate didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Sanji, Nami and Robin had seen them, in fact they only seemed to be lost with each other.

It was a strange thing.

Two people who were as opposite as anything had found each other.

"Zoro." Luffy murmered as he looked up at the sky with tired eyes.

"Hmm?" the green haired man looked peacefully out in front of him.

Now it was Luffy's turn to request something of the swordsman, and although no one could have ever fathomed that the naive and stupid boy could have possibly had thoughts like this. It was, apparently a very possible thing,"Zoro." Luffy said again, this time seriously.

Startled and a little unprepared by Luffy's tone of voice, he turned to look at his captain who had been staring at him intently,"Yea?" the green haired man cocked his head to the side a little to get a good look at the rubber man.

A light breeze slithered by the two people and the moon shined brightly in the clear starry sky.

"Let's have sex." Luffy grinned stupidly at his 1st mate.

Zoro choked and almost fell off the ship's figurehead,"What!"


	10. Chapter 10

"Let's have sex." Luffy blinked innocently at Zoro, his dark eyes shined with a deep amber black showing the depth of his eyes.

Zoro quickly recovered from his evident shock,"Do you even know what you're talking about Luffy?" he was wondering where this stupid rubber man had even heard of the term. Probably from Sanji and Nami, and the green haired man swore to kill the two people for teaching something so useless to their captain.

"It's what two people do when they love each other right?" Luffy asked, he laughed,"Don't look so surprised Zoro, I know what I'm talking about."

At that the swordsman's eyes widened to the size of cannonballs,"You know what you're talking about?" this meant that his captain was quite experienced. This meant that Zoro was now seeing a side of his captain that no one would see or ever even think that existed in Luffy.

The rubber man just shrugged and looked away,"I know alot of things." he admitted softly and looked up at the sky with a little content smile.

"Then why do you always act so stupid?" Zoro looked at Luffy trying to organize his thoughts about his captain. He was learning so much about Luffy these days.

"Because." Luffy shrugged,"It's just easier that way." the strawhat hanging around his neck twitched in the oncoming breeze.

Easier that way...

Zoro snorted and turned his attention to the front,he could sort of understand now.

"So let's do it Zoro!" Luffy grinned widelyand turned to look at his 1st mate.

Zoro choked,"Are you still going on about that!" his head snapped to look at his captain who was just smiling.

"Yep!" Luffy laughed but didn't move from where he was, his face was unexpectedly a little red.

Zoro looked at Luffy for a moment and then sighed,"I just can't win can I..." there was a little flame building up in his chest and up until now Zoro had never actually realized the extent of his feelings towards the rubber man. It was either going to be Luffy or no one,"You know, you can't just tell someone that you want to do it." Zoro rolled his eyes,"It ruins the mood."

"Eh...really?" Luffy's eyebrows furrowed in thought,"But this one time, I just asked and then he just laughed but then we did it too..." his head was cocked to the side as he thought about it.

"He?" Zoro's eyes bugged out of his skull,"This one time?" his face reddened,"Luffy." he growled as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah! I was just kidding!" Luffy looked at Zoro quickly,"I was just kidding!" he backed away from the advancing swordsman which didn't add up to very much since they were both on the figure head of the ship,"Zorooo!" he wailed,"I'm going to fall off! I said I was sorry!"

Zoro stopped suddenly, their faces were only two inches apart and their bodies were apart by only a hair's width away.

The swordsman grinned and then gently pressed his lips against his captain's own lips into a gentle kiss. When they drew back, Luffy's eyes were shining and there was a moment of understanding,"Let's go somewhere else." the swordsman whispered.

Luffy nodded and the two hopped off of the figurehead and disappeared into a secret room that Franky had managed to build just for the two of them.

The moon's light gently passed over the face of the Thousand Sunny's figurehead. The face seemed to be smiling.

The only witness to the scene.

The constant rough swaying of the ship was what Zoro woke up to. The green haired man blinked as his eyes focused and he realized where he was and who he was with. He was a little sore but it was bearable, Luffy was probably going to be immobile for the entire day.

Last night's events came rushing back to him and the swordsman turned his head to the side to see the raven haired boy curled into Zoro's side and sleeping soundly. Zoro smiled lightly and tugged the blanket up a little to cover both him and his captain, his eyes wandered around the rubber man's face and then slowly went down, neck, chest...Zoro's eyes narrowed and he moved a little to get a better view of Luffy's chest.

"What the..." Zoro murmered and he looked a little closer careful not to wake Luffy up.

Where Luffy's heart was there was a large purple red bruise, veins of red, blue and green were visible around the bruise as if his heart was straining against something, the skin was rough and swollen with a garish yellow-ish tint to it.

What the hell was this?

The swordsman quietly lay back down, and pulled the sleeping bou closer to his side as he thought about what he had just seen. Was it the poison? Was it affecting his heart?

This was probably what Luffy was refusing to reveal to anyone. So this was why Luffy had told Chopper not ot bother with him anymore...

The sleeping rubber man stirred a little before his eyes opened and he yawned hugely,"Zoro." he grinned and then snuggled into Zoro's side, a skinny arm was thrown across the swordsman's stomach and his head was using the Zoro's chest as a pillow.

"Hey Luffy." Zoro ruffled the rubber man's hair with his free hand but his thoughts were still on the bruise that marked the spot where Luffy's heart was.

The two people managed to doze off for a couple mroe hours before finally arising to take a shower and face the somewhat indifferent crew. By then the storm had subsided but the sky was still grey and covered in heavy thick clouds as if threatening them to remember that it could still rain.

All throughout the day no matter what he was doing, Zoro's mind was constantly wrapped around Luffy's bruise that he had seen. Of course he hadn't seen it last night..they were...ehm...busy, so to speak.

But as Zoro subtly and quietly did his duties as well as keep an eye on Luffy he didn't miss the signs of pain his captain was supressing everytime he moved his left arm too suddenly or when he knocked into something on his left side. He also noticed that Luffy refused to sit or run like he used to, mostly, Zoro thought as he hid a smirk, probably because of me.

But his apparent amusement was fading fast he continually observed Luffy throughout the enitre day only to realize that the pain coming from the bruise was close to exceeding any other sensation that Luffy felt.

And much to Zoro's dismay, the rubber captain was hell bent on hiding it from everyone and anyone, it hurt more because Luffy didn't know that Zoro had seen it. It hurt more because Luffy was intentionally hiding it from Zoro.

Why?

At the end of the day everyone was too tired for much talking, they had just fought off 2 fleets of marine ships, 1 shichibukai, and about 3 different groups of pirates all pursuing the bounty on Luffy's head.

When it was time to sleep, everyone hit their beds like logs and didn't move until the next morning came.

But the only person who was unable to sleep was Zoro.

Even though he had been the one to demolish an entire fleet of ships by himself, even though he had been the one to fight of the all of the pirates by himself. In comparison to what the others did, Zoro was by far the most exhausted, well, out of all of the crew members. Compared to Luffy Zoro had it easy, since Luffy had fought the shichibukai off all on his own even though the fact that his body was not what it used to be mostly in thanks to the damn poison.

However, besides Luffy, Zoro was by far the most exhausted onem and yet he couldn't even close his eyes.

It was strange because most of the time Zoro had no trouble falling asleep no matter where he was and no matter what the situation was.

But why this time? Why couldn't he sleep? The green haired man turned to his side and then rolled over onto his back, he couldn't get comfortable! Zoro rolled over onto his other side before flipping onto his stomach and then rolling over onto his back once more. This was getting ridiculous.

What was wrong with him? And then suddenly Zoro knew.

The green haired man sat up from his bed and walked out of his room, he had to go there.

Had to see him for at least a second.

woohoo! two updates in one day :]

well enjoy because I wont be updating for a while I think- and reviews are always welcome :]


	11. Chapter 11

"You know..." Zoro crossed his arms and leaned against the railing,"It's very hard to find you when you're not in your room like you're supposed to be." he commented as he supressed a slight shiver against the cool wind.

When Zoro had snuck out of his own room to find Luffy, he had found out that the rubber man wasn't in his bed. After walking around the ship about 5 times, he had found Luffy sitting on top of the ship's figure head like he always did.

"It wasn't easy finding you you know." the green haired man grumbled as he fixed his eyes on the silent captain sitting in a relaxed manner on the sturdy, wooden sun...or was it a bear?

Luffy chuckled,"That's because you suck at directions." his voice was weary but there was an underlying vibration of eternal energy that made Luffy, well, Luffy.

"Hmph." Zoro just looked away,"I don't know what you're talking about, everyone else is just horrible at making them easy to understand." Really...how was it all his fault? They were the one's at fault for giving him wrong directions anyways. Why was it so hard for people to realize that North is going up and going right is left?

The raven haired boy just chuckled and then turned around to face the miffed swordsman,"Zoro." his voice was soft and caried a current of worry and curiosity.

"Yea?" Zoro turned his head to look at his captain, he raised a green eyebrow just as a cloud lazily floated by and covered the moon for a brief moment before it cleared up once again.

Luffy's smile was gone,"You saw it didn't you?" his voice was timid and his demeanor reminded Zoro of what Luffy truly was. A teenager.

"Saw what?" the green haired man stifled a huge yawn,"I didn't see a damn thing." he lied, his eyes were intent on Luffy's chest. The area where, if the rubber boy's red vest had been taken off, there was the large purpling spidery bruise.

Luffy looked at Zoro intently,"Thank you ." he said quietly before turning back around to face the front. The night was actually a little chilly today but the air felt soothing against Luffy's hot skin and the scent of salt and freedom made his chest tingel with unseen delight.

There was nothing better than being a pirate.

How could he had ever even thought of taking a little break from being one? Luffy shook his head bemused at himself, never again, he promised himself.

I will be a pirate until death.

Zoro quietly watched his captain,"You should get Chopper to look at that." his voice was quiet, he did his best to hide the frantic emotions that were pulling and begging to show in his voice.

The captain sighed heavily but didn't say anything as he looked over in front of him. Lately it seemed as though there were too many scenes of Zoro and Luffy out on the deck at night gazing at the dark horizon in front of them.

Geez, can't the writer be more creative and less lazy? Zoro's eyebrows twitched in frusteration and irritation.

"Seriously Luffy, just get it checked up by Chopper." the swordsman crossed his arms over his chest,"He might be able to reduce the swelling or do something about the bruising." Zoro mumbled hesitantly when his captain started to readjust his sitting position so that he was now facing his 1st mate.

"No." the rubber boy crossed his arms over his own chest and sulked, his large black eyes shined in the darkness.

"Luffy!" Zoro growled menacingly, he took a step forward, his hands clenching tightly into fists.

"He can't do anything about it." Luffy replied in a more mature voice.

Zoro stopped,"How do you know?" his voice softened and he could see that Luffy was rather hurt and a little bit miffed that Zoro would try to order him to do anything that he didn't want to do.

"Because." Luffy shrugged, he and Zoro locked eyes,"Instinct." he grinned widely.

"I still want you to check!" Zoro insisted desperately, even though he trusted Luffy, even though he knew that Luffy was correct, it still would make him feel better if he had gotten checked out by Chopper.

"Zoro." Luffy's face wasn't smiling anymore, the grin was replaced by a cold look that Zoro had never seen his captain use on anyone other than for enemies. It was a reserved expression.

The swordsman shut his mouth and forced his temper to lie dormant in his stomach. He had been trying to force his choice onto Luffy and had been trying the rubber man's patience as well. But he couldn't help it! He wanted Luffy to be healed! He wanted Luffy to live!

"Zoro, I will make my own decisions." his black eyes narrowed into slits and Zoro could feel a slight disturbance in the air as a slight little wind of Luffy's haki brushed past him,"I am your captain." he said in a low and dangerous voice.

Zoro shuddered slightly and looked away, ever since Luffy had been poisoned, everything had been falling apart. Even Luffy's personality.

And then in a gentler voice he said,"I know because my grandfather sent me a letter the other day." his face returned to their boyish features and the smile that drew everyone to him lit up his face once more,"He apologizes that I couldn't have become a fine Marine, and then he told me the details of the poison." he tilted his head to the side.

"Details?" Zoro's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Luffy in confusion,"Your grandfather?" what the hell was going on right now?

"Sengoku sent that person to poison me and my grandfather couldn't do anything about it." Luffy shrugged as if itwere to be expected, after all he and his grandfather were on opposite sides. Pirate and Marine,"Anyways, he told me that there isn't an antidote to this poison because it's specifically made for the use of killing someone that needs to be brought down." Luffy grinned as if that was the best news that he's ever known.

Zoro on the other hand was trying his very best not to throw a fit at Luffy and then go to the Marine HQ to demand them to make an antidote for his captain.

"Thankfully." Luffy's grin got bigger,"The poison works very slowly and takes about 10 years to completely render the victim lifeless." he clapped,"Isn't that great news Zoro?"

Great news? Zoro surpessed himself from yelling at Luffy.

This wasn't great news! If there was no cure, if the poson worked slowly, if Luffy would die in 10 years...

It was the same!

His captain's life would slowly bleed out of him.

Hi captain's life would slowly drain to nothing.

How the hell was this great news!

He glared at Luffy but decided not to say anything, this was just too much for him to handle right now and Luffy being the person that he is decided to call it great news! Zoro snorted, how very thoughtful of him.

Luffy jusy sighed when he caught the look of disdain and disatisfication on the green haired man's face,"Zoro, I am the same, everything will be what it used to be." he promised softly as a gentle breeze whooshed by making his hair dance slightly as it passed,"Our long adventure will just be a little shorter than what we all thought it would be." his voice was soft.

Little by little Zoro could feel his stony mask start to chip, then crumble and then finally collapse. What was revealed shocked Luffy, he had never seent he swordsman look so weak and helpless in all the time that they'd spent together,"Zoro?" he hopped off of the figure head and made his way towards the man who had his head bowed so that Luffy wouldn't be able to see anymore of his face.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Zoro managed to choke out, his eyes were staring daggers at the floor and he could feel himself trembling. He couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't.

"You're supposed to live." Luffy replied firmly,"You're supposed to take care of the others, and help them find their dreams too." he reached behind himself and grabbed the strawhat,"You're supposed to make everyone remember the Strawhat crew." Luffy placed the strawhat atop his head and Zoro thought that Luffy looked like a true captain.

"Tell the crew then at least." Zoro willed his emotions to lie still inside of him,"Tell them what's going to happen, they deserve to know." the swordsman felt ready to lift his head up so that he could look into Luffy's eyes.

The rubber man frowned for a moment as he contemplated every aspect of this dangerous decision.

Zoro tensely sood and waited, his eyes searching his captain's face diligently.

"Fine." Luffy finally returned Zoro's gaze,"I will, but I choose when and I choose how."

Zoro shrugged,"Fine with me then." and then watched Luffy walk away from him without looking back once.

Did they just have their first fight?


	12. Chapter 12

It turns out that the entire crew had known about Luffy.

Little bits and pieces had been brought together and as a result they had come up with the whole picture.

However, that was not what shocked the crew to silence.

It was what Luffy had said to them.

"So...you have 10 years?" Franky finally broke the heavily silence.

Everyone was currently gathered downstairs where the aquarium was, each crew member sitting in a half circle around their captain. The giant aquarium was filled with a variety of sea life, from unconscious sharks, to a horde of octopus, to all sizes, colors and variety of fish all swimming around trying to avoid the currently knocked out sharks floating in the tank.

"The poison makes haki disappear." Luffy said in his rare moment of maturity,"The time I have left, is the the equivalent of how much haki I posess." he crossed his arms over his chest,"The longest person to last against this poison was Gol. D Roger." his voice turned serious now,"Grandpa calculated the amount of haki I have and the amount of poison that had gotten into my system and he came up with 10 years, so it's pretty accurate. Also, there are no side effects to this poison except for the fact that I can't use my haki as much anymore..." he thought for a moment and then added,"And when my haki is all gone so is my life." his voice was quiet.

Everyone tried to digest the new information and unconsciously looked for someone to blame.

They knew they couldn't blame Luffy's grandpa. There was nothing he could do about it because Luffy was a pirate, and to the Marines that was unforgiveable.

Even though they shared the same blood, they stood on opposites sides of the battlefield.

The fight between liberation of laws and Justice.

"I've come up with an antidote.." the quiet voice broke the heavy silence.

Everyone looked at the reindeer in shockm"How?" they all asked in unison, including Luffy who looked at Chopper silently.

"Well...It's not really an antidote." the reindeer looked at his little hooves and twiddled them nervously,"It's just something that counteracts the way the poison works and forces the poison to release all of the haki that it consumed."

"You're really something Chopper." Luffy grinned at the little reindeer,"I'm glad that you joined my crew."

Chopper didn't say anything as he looked up at Luffy,"But there's one thing that I should tell you." his voice wobbled.

The atomsphere seemed to tighten as the crew and captain geared themselves to hear the rest.

"It will take the same amount of time that the poison takes." Chopper continued,"I'm not even sure if the antidote is going to save your life Luffy." the reindeer's eyes got big,"After 10 years pass there will be one day where the poison and the antidote that I made will have to battle it out in your body, the poison will want to consume your life, and the antidote will want to save your life, but I'm not sure about the outcome Luffy." Chopper shook slightly.

There was silence as the crew thought about it. So there was no real way to save Luffy...no antidote...

Suddenly Luffy grinned,"It's good enough with this Chopper." he patted the reindeer's head gently,"You did your best and I did my best." he smiled at the reindeer who stopped shaking,"There's nothing more that I can ask of you right? You did your best." he chuckled and looked at his crew,"I'm prepared, and you're all prepared, so Chopper." he looked at the little doctor,"Go get the antidote."

Chopper looked at Luffy with renewed strength and nodded before scurrying off to his office for the vaccine.

While he was gone the air suddenly turned darker, the innocent little reindeer was out of the way for now.

All that was left was to really talk it out with the rest of the guys.

"Luffy.." Nami spoke first,"Are you really sure about this?" everyone looked at their captain,"Chopper isn't even sure if the antidote is going to counteract the poison or just speed the process of the poison up." she pointed out, her brown eyes were narrowed.

Luffy didn't say anything, the smile that he had given Chopper was gone, replaced with a serious look,"I'm never sure about anything." he finally replied speaking to everyone.

Zoro, Sanji, Brooke, Franky, Robin and Nami all looked at their captain in confusion.

"Don't be so sure of anything that you can't do." Luffy said as he looked at each one of his member's carefully,"If you're not the one doing it, don't be so confident in it." he repeated again but this time in a softer voice.

Nami, Sanji and the rest of the crew didn't say anything as they tried to understand the meanigs of the words that their captain was saying, but before they could cave in and ask Luffy what he meant, Chopper hurried into the room where everyone was sitting carrying a little vaccine needle in a small hoof,"I've got it!" his eyes shined brightly.

The atomsphere quickly brightened as everyone tried to hide their serious emotions way from Chopper, the naive little reindeer.

"Good job Chopper." Luffy grinned brightly,"Now let's see if it'll work ten years from now." he put a hand on his opposite shoulder and flexed the arm.

Chopper smiled happily and then he stuck Luffy with the needle.

Everyone watched silently, each person wondering what would happen ten years from now.


	13. Chapter 13

5 years had passed.

Nothing had changed, except that Luffy was back to his normal self and the crew was now moving forward again, making a name for themselves in the world and advancing more and more closer to each of their own dreams.

But what the rest of the crew didn't see, Zoro saw in full when he spent his nights awake at Luffy's side, and what he saw, he could never tell the crew. Partly because Luffy made Zoro keep quiet about it and alos because Chopper would have killed himself if he knew.

The vaccine that Chopper had given Luffy sertainly did seem to work, the purple bruise on the rubber man's heart was disappearing at a sluggish pace, but it was disappearing. However, the little reindeer didn't know about the painful side effects that the vaccine had on Luffy's body.

It was because the vaccine was counteracting the poison, however, the poison is excess stuffs in his Luffy's body and had nowehere to go. In an attempt to get rid of the foreign and harmful chemical from the rubber man's system, his body forcefully rejected the poison.

Through barfing sessions, spasms, short fevers and chills.

All at night when Luffy was at rest, when the vaccine had done its work for the day, when it was time for the poison to be rejected.

Zoro gritted his teeth as he gently wiped Luffy's forehead with a cool rag, it felt like things had gone worse instead of getting better. What the hell was this vaccine crap anyways?

Luffy panted for breath and shivered slightly, the thin blanket was pulled all the way up to his chin but Zoro could still see the rubber man shake beneath the thin cotton,"Thank you." he grinned even though it was painful,"Zoro." his grin got wider before he shivered once more.

Zoro didn't say anything as he grabbed another blanket, snapped it out and let it settle over Luffy's frail form,"Why don't you just tell them?" he complained as he sat back down beside Luffy on the bed, it was dark, and everyone was asleep. Judging by routine, Luffy would soon be free of the excess poison from the day and fall into a deep sleep.

"I don't want them to worry." Luffy blinked sleepily as his body got a little warmer. He could feel the last bit of poison beginning to crawl its way up his stomach and sat up.

Zoro shoved the bucket in front of Luffy and turned away while his captain expelled the disgusting contents from his body.

"Thanks." Luffy wiped the back of his mouth tiredly and flopped onto his back as Zoro placed the stinking bucket far away from his so that he could clean it later and so that he would be able to give his captain some water.

The swordsman didn't say anything as he mopped up the sweat from Luffy's slick forehead with a new white rag,"Do you even feel the difference?" Zoro finally demanded as he threw the now dirty rag away."Can you feel yourself healing?" his voice was rough, but how else was he going to ask?

"No doubt about it." Luffy replied instantly, his eyes were beginning to close and Zoro pulled the blankets up to cover his captain's torso.

The green haired man gazed at Luffy for a moment longer and then sighed,"I'm thinking of leaving the crew." he said softly.

There was silence.

Luffy's eyes flew open looking alert and alarmed,"Why?" he turned his head to look at his 1st mate, he would have sit up, but he didn't have the strength to do so. His black eyes were hurt and a bit lost.

Zoro looked away,"Because I don't like this crew anymore." he said clearly,"I'm tired of it." and he seemed to mean every word that he said.

"What about me?" Luffy's voice was small and soft but it didn't betray his wild emotions at the moment. What about all of the time that they had spent together? What about all of the memories that they had of each other? Didn't that mean something to Zoro?

Finally Zoro turned his head to look into Luffy's eyes,"It's just for a little while." he replied softly, his facial expression was gentle and he patted Luffy on the head with a large weathered hand.

"NO." Luffy's face crumpled but his voice didn't waver, this was the first time that Zoro had seen Luffy look hurt even in the slightest and for a moment he felt a bit honored that Luffy held such a high place for him in his heart.

"Yes." Zoro replied firmly, he crossed his arms over his chest and didn't allow any room for argument.

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and rolled onto his side so that his back was now facing Zoro,"No." he repeated stubbornly.

"Luffy." Zoro sighed,"You don't understand." his voice was weary and worn out from the days of keeping Luffy's secret a secret from the crew members, from the long nights of taking care of Luffy, from loving Luffy too much to be able to handle this.

"No." Luffy rolled to his other side so that he was now facing Zoro,"You don't understand." his eyes were darker than black,"My reason for strength, my reason for power is for you guys." he narrowed his eyes slightly,"I'm here to make sure that nothing happens to you guys and I'm here to make sure that we all stay **together**." he emphasized,"Or do you want my pain and efforts to go to waste?" he looked into Zoro's eyes piercingly.

All of a sudden the room seemed smaller to Zoro and he looked away heatedly unable to say anything but a few words,"Fine." he grumbled,"I'll stay." his temper had subsided for the moment when he had seen the pain in Luffy's eyes.

Luffy grinned,"Good." he had played dirty, he had guilt tripped Zoro into staying, but he would use any means to make Zoro stay with him. He would do anything to make Zoro stay with him. Even if it meant hurting the surprisingly sensitive swordsman,"Zoro." Luffy said quietly after a moment of silence.

"Hm?" Zoro turned his head to look at his captain. What the hell did this selfish thing want from him now?

"Give it some time." Luffy sighed as he closed his eyes tiredly,"Just 5 more years..." he yawned and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed.

Zoro looked at Luffy silently, the darkness of the room was hiding the swordsman's tears, that and the fact tha Luffy was now asleep.

How could he wait?


	14. Chapter 14

The next day was pretty much the same.

Except for one thing.

Zoro was gone.

No one could find him.

And despite the fact that Luffy was practically everywhere within seconds to look for his first mate, for **his **green haired swordsman, the familiar fit form of Zoro was nowhere to be found.

3 hours passed by before everyone gave up looking for the swordsman.

They had refused to believe that Zoro had left them, they had refused to acknowledge it and it had led to bigger disappointment.

Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, the crew members were silent and Luffy refused to say anything. His black eyes looked lost and blank for a change and for once the rubber captain didn't know what to do with his very first crew member gone.

He had promised!

Zoro had promised that he would stay with Luffy forever!

Nami and Sanji were arguing quietly in a corner of the room while Brooke, Ussop, Franky and Chopper were silently and nervously looking at each other an fiddling with their fingers, collars and whatever else that would distract themselves from making a mistake in front of Luffy. Robin sat beside Luffy and regarded her usually energetic captain with her keen and perceptive blue eyes.

Nobody knew what to do.

Luffy's eyes narrowed as he thought about everything. Zoro had vanished and that was that, he had taken one of the extra boats that Franky had constructed not too long ago along with a barrel of fresh water and a sack of food. The rubber captain wasn't particularly worried about **why **Zoro had left anymore, Luffy was now only worried about **how **Zoro would find an island.

The green haired man was probably the only person in the entire world who was more directionally challenged than Luffy was, and that worried the rubber captain more than anything. What if Zoro rowed himself to the marine HQ on accident? Or what if he accidently made his way to the Celestial Dragon's home?

Luffy closed his eyes showing the crew a rare moment of his stressed side to them, he sighed heavily and then opened his eyes,"Don't worry about Zoro." he said quietly.

All talking stopped and everyone's eyes went to Luffy's face in surprise, just a moment ago he had looked so lost. Right now he looked calm, he looked like he knew what Zoro was up to.

"Hey Luffy." Nami spoke up a bit hesitantly,"Aren't you...kind of.._mad _that Zoro left?" everyone averted their eyes a little uncomfortably at the question but at the same time, their ears were keen on any noise that he captain might make.

There was silence as Luffy turned to look at Nami, and for a moment everyone was scared that Luffy might be mad for asking a question like that, no one could be too careful with Luffy these days after what he had been through.

And then Luffy laughed.

Robin just smiled her secret little smile, Luffy wouldn't be mad at one of his crew members just for that. Especially if this was Zoro whom anyone could trust.

Simple and blunt as he was, Zoro was surprisingly very insightful and knew just what to do when a situation occured, he wasn't the type of man to betray people and he also wasn't the type of man to serve just anyone.

"Hey...why are you laughing?" Nami angrily moved to hit Luffy on the head with a fist when he stopped laughing just as suddenly as he had started and looked at the orange haired navigator who froze when Luffy's eyes landed on her.

"If Zoro left, then there must be a good reason why he left." Luffy said seriously,"He's not the type of guy to leave his crew and captain behind without a word." the 17 year old boy smiled hugely,"He'll come back for sure!" his face was all teeth,"We just have to wait now." he chuckled, but inside, for the very first time Luffy was scared, for the very first time, Luffy wanted to go after Zoro and drag him back to the ship, to the crew, to himself.

And little by little, the crew, reassured by their captain's obvious and truthful reasoning, they began to thaw out of their anxiety, irritation, and fear.

The only thing to do was to wait for Zoro to come back now.

The only question was, when would he come back to them?

Luffy looked down at his hands and flexed them a couple of times, around him, his crew began to talk loudly and laugh with each other, their voices melted into one big huge sound wave that gave off different bursts of frequencies and tenors. Words couldn't be deciphered here, only the owner's of the voices could, laughter wove itself into the sound of the words, there was only one thing missing though.

The rubber captain reached back for his hat that dangled around his neck and placed the worn and dirty strawhat on top of his head, it fit snugly and comfortably as if it were made for him.

Zoro's voice wasn't heard.

It was so easy for people to forget about one person in a crowd.


End file.
